A clearinghouse of news and events about historic Route 66, the Mother Road.

A visit to Elmer Long’s Bottle Tree Ranch

A lot of videos have made their way on the Internet about Elmer Long and his unique Bottle Tree Ranch along Route 66 near Oro Grande, Calif.

But this one by KCET-TV, a community station in Los Angeles, is the best. The interview delves into Long’s background. And, much to my relief, Long says his sons will continue running the site after he dies.

But, if I had my way, I’d declare the Bottle Tree Ranch a national monument so people can enjoy it in perpetuity.

Long undoubtedly took some inspiration from Miles Mahan’s Half Acre, also known as Hulaville, which had a few bottle trees along with other quirky stuff in nearby Hesperia, California. Mahan’s Half Acre was bulldozed shortly after his death in 1997, although a few artifacts from there are on display at the California Route 66 Museum in Victorville.

Stopped by to visit Elmer when we went to the festival in Victorville. Happens that we both served in the Marine Corps and had a few stories to swap. He saw a rain cloud in the distance and took off explaining that he had not seen rain in over a year and was going to try to get to it and do a little dance in the rain. We hung around and ended up showing some European visitors around. One of the big highlights of our 66 adventures!

Hello, we are a TV crew from Shanghai and are in California this week. We would love to feature Elmer in our program but I don’t know how to contact him. Do you have his number? I am reachable on 347 268 8623. Thanks!